I guess I owe you a post about homemade liquid fertilzers, because yesterday I received the following Email:

Hello!

I informed you that I would experiment on a small section on home made fertilizer. I did not use inorganic fertilizer at all. I instructed the farm worker to spray the home made fertilizer twice a wk.

Finally, harvesting time came! I honestly wasn't sure. But today, when they harvested (my mom was there, I was in Nairobi where I work and live, they got eight (8) bags from a very small piece of land! They said the harvest was all huge size potatoes, no small sizes that you keep for seed!In the month of August I had harvested from 3 and a half acres, which I had harvested earlier, and the yield was very low.

I am very, very excited! Got some thousands in my pocket!

It works! It works!!

That article you wrote in the SEEDS OF GOLD has revolutionized my farming from now on. Will make very, very good use of it. From Thursday this wk, I am beginning to plant 8 acres of potatoes. I had plenty to seed from previous harvest.

Thank you Anja Weber!

Sincerely,

Michael Wambugu

What are homemade liquid fertilizers? They are the organic farmers' best solution for topdressing. They are easily made at home with very simple ingredients and tools. In fact you can make them from any kind of green (organic) matter plus water with the help of a bucket, a panga and a stick.

Stinging Nettle

As I said, you can use any kind of fresh, green plant material like weeds or hedge cuttings e.g. to make your own fertilizer, but there are three special plants that I would like to mention because of their high nutritional value. The first one is stinging nettle (Urtica). Every farmer and gardener should grow a patch of it in a corner of their plot. Stinging nettle is usually regarded as a weed and much hated becuase it gives you a terrible itch, when you touch it. But for making liquid fertilizer it is my favourite!

Tithonia

The second plant is Tithonia, a plant that is grown in many parts of Kenya, often as hedges or wild along the road side. This one is my plant of choice when I am making Phosphorus-rich fertilizer.

Comfrey

The third plant that needs extra mentioning is Comfrey (Symphytum). I have often seen it on farms being grown as a fodder crop (especially for pigs and poultry) but also as a spinach. It is very healthy and rich in Vitamin B12, which works as a growth stimulant. I therefore use fertilizer made from it at transplanting.

2. Use your panga or secateurs to chop all materials up, roughly into the size of your hand. (For stinging nettle you better wear gloves!)

3. Fill the bucket with the chopped up material.

Chopping up the material

Chopped Stinging Nettle in a bucket

4. Fill the bucket with water until all the plant material is completely covered.

Adding water

5. Cover the bucket losely so that mosquitoes can't breed in it.

6. Use a big stick to stir your "brew" daily to incorporate oxygen. The more oxygen you can incorporate, the better.

7. Leave the "brew" for about 2 weeks, stirring daily.

Stirring daily!

8. The "brew" will start to bubble and smell (some people would say stink...). This is good, it means that the fermentation process is well under way. After about 2 weeks the bubbling will stop. The plant material will have more or less disolved and only the harder parts will remain as kind of a sludge. Remove them with the stick. The fertilizer should now have a dark green, opaque colour.

No more bubbles

The finished product

9. Strain the liquid through a cloth (if you want to apply it with a sprayer) or a sieve (for application to the root area).

10. Store it in a closed container in a dark, cool place until you want to use it.

Sieving

How to use it...

1. Never use it undiluted. It is very strong and can chemically burn your crop. Always dilute 1 litre of liquid with 10 litres of water (1:10) for root application or 1 litre of liquid with 20 litres of water for foliar application.

2. Apply it with a watering can to the root zone of each plant or use a knapsack sprayer to apply it as a foliar feed. No protection gear is needed.

Fertilizerapplication

3. Weekly applications are recommended.

This simple and quick method provides you with a good and cheap source of fertilizers that can be easily stored and safely applied any time.

What, lovely easy to follow instructions. You've reminded me of something I need to treat my plants to. As an organic gardener I tend to leave my vegetable patch to get on with it, but this will give the vegetables the boost they need. Thank you.

Reply

Grace

4/20/2016 09:31:18 am

Thank you for sharing. Comfrey is very medicinal.

Reply

Gabriel Sankale

5/14/2017 09:01:03 am

this is the best lesson I had never heard before, Thankyou very much my dear friend.

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Author

Anja Weber is the chairperson of Mama Chakula Foundation, a members' organisation dedicated to rural transformation through education & exchange; honouring old principals while embracing new technologies. She came to East Africa in 1997, when she set up the food processing units at Irente Farm. She has since worked as manager for different companies in East Africa.